Android

I'm probably going to spam this around a bit, since most people don't seem to know about it, but a reminder that FuriLabs has a (GNU+)Linux phone with decent spec.s and the ability to run Android app.s (from what I've heard) pretty decently: https://furilabs.com/

Biggest drawback is it's based on Halium. Usual growing pains of a new product/company apply but apparently the company is pretty responsive and their dev.s have worked with customers to get things like calling working with the carrier and bands of their country where it hasn't worked before so improvements move pretty quickly.

Collection of different experiences I've variously seen online over the last year or so:

• https://clehaxze.tw/gemlog/2025/07-20-flx1-actually-usable-linux-phone.gmi
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41839326
• https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1fa1ljn/furilabs_flx1/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1j46f2w/flx1_linux_phone_display_out/
• https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/03/furiphone_flx1/

I don't own one, myself, so I can't give any personal experience but I've seen it around for a few years now but most people don't seem to even know about it. Maybe there's a reason for that? But none I've ever seen anyone say.

Holy shit, the bootlicking and mental gymnastics in the article's comments:

• Phones are good now! You don't need custom ROMs!
• If you got nothing to hide you will use a stock phone!
• No average person loads custom ROMs, it's a nerd thing!

This is sad. I'm clinging to my GrapheneOS Pixel 7 until it completely breaks. By then I hope there will be decent Linux phone options or I might not get another phone at all.

Google can go fuck itself. The state stock phone from most major manufacturers come in with all that increasingly intrusive spyware that you can't uninstall or turn off should be illegal.

sadge :( any solutions for us?

I read something on masto a while back that said something like "tech companies would remove the customer if they could" and I am very quickly adopting that as true in my brain.

Last month postmarket got 4G modem AND recieve voice working at the same time.

It's gonna be a hot minute, but more competition is for the best

Got to grassroots a more open platform over some decades like desktop Linux. Once a RISC-V phone comes out running some relatively normal Linux distro is out, I'll buy it as a tinker with phone. At least it'll be a portable battery powered device to run full desktop Linux when docked

2026, year of the Linux phone

Remember, you don't own it if you can't use it however you want.

I really don't get the doomsayers in this thread, all boasting about how android is secure and private -- that's bullshit. Android may be secure, and Google has a rep of doing secure stuff, but it's hardly private, 'cos Google.

Then they go on about how you just can't do that with regular linux. Wtf?
For the most part, mobile linux distros are adapted desktop distros and all the tools you can use on android for sandboxing et al you can use on regular linux.

Are there linux distros for mobile that are on par with android? No, not at the moment and not with that attitude. Can there be? For sure, and Google's pushing it in that direction.

If you're gonna be doomsayers bitch about hardware drivers, that's indeed an issue and even that, it's, like regular linux, a matter of time until someone reverse engineers them.

Sad opensource and consumers are shafted!

Very sad state. Maybe hope lies in emulation? What I want ideally for my phone is for it to run a Linux-type desktop OS, and have light VMs (if containers won't do) running fully locked garbage Android systems for those apps that require them.

As an exclusive Linux user since the early 2000s I remember well the days programs were unavailable and website only supported Internet Explorer. Wine and virtualization remedied much of that pain.

I'm surprised to never see Apostrophy OS being mentionned. Only comes with Punkt cellphone but it seems like a decent alternative that doesn't use a pixel phone.

No use developing a monopoly (and having its future profits valued on the market) if you don't plan to use it for ~~hurting the consumers, society, & environment~~ profits.

And anyone using Google related products is feeding the beast.
Now explain that to eg Chrome users.